Arkansas’ long losing streak to Auburn is over.
The Razorbacks won 41-27 on the Tigers’ home field Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak in the series. Arkansas defeated Auburn for the first time since 2015, and won at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time since 2012.
“To come in here (and win) means everything,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “It means a lot. Now we've beaten every West team since I've been here except 'Bama.”
Arkansas (5-3, 2-3 SEC) moved to within one victory of bowl eligibility. The Razorbacks will play their next three games at home against Liberty, LSU and Ole Miss.
"It's a big deal for us," Pittman told SEC Network. "We're not bowl eligible, but the next one we have an opportunity to get bowl eligible. That'd be a huge deal for us. After that, it's just which one do you go to?"
Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders rushed for 171 yards on 16 carries despite not playing the fourth quarter, and the Razorbacks rushed for 286 yards against the SEC’s worst run defense. Quarterback KJ Jefferson rushed for two touchdowns in the first half and running back Rashod Dubinon had pair of 2-yard touchdown runs after halftime.
“I think we wore them down,” Pittman said.
Sanders did not score, but helped set up multiple touchdowns with big runs, including a 76-yard carry to the Auburn 18 on the drive that ended with Dubinion’s first touchdown late in the third quarter.
Sanders joined Madre Hill (1995) as the only Arkansas players to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards by the eighth game of the season. Sanders leads the SEC with 1,041 rushing yards and 1,237 yards from scrimmage.
By comparison, former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden had 993 rushing yards and 1,086 yards from scrimmage through his eighth game in 2007 when he won the Doak Walker Award and finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Arkansas’ offense started sluggish at Auburn, which led to a pair of early scoring opportunities for the Tigers (3-5, 1-4). Anders Carlson missed a 46-yard field goal attempt early in the first quarter, but following an Arkansas turnover, Carlson made a kick from the same spot with 5:55 left in the quarter to put Auburn ahead 3-0.
Jefferson rushed for touchdowns on Arkansas’ next two drives to give the Razorbacks the lead for good. His 1-yard touchdown on third-and-goal put Arkansas ahead 7-3 late in the first quarter, and his 13-yard scramble on third-and-7 early in the second quarter extended the lead to 14-3.
Auburn responded with a 41-yard touchdown run by running back Tank Bigsby to cut the lead to 14-10 with 3:43 left in the second quarter. The drive covered 93 yards in 5 plays after Arkansas’ Reid Bauer boomed a 78-yard punt — the longest punt by a Razorback in nine years.
The teams traded field goals late in the first half and Arkansas led 17-13 at halftime.
The Razorbacks scored the first 21 points of the second half to build a 38-13 midway through the fourth quarter on Dubinion’s second touchdown run.
"We hadn't won the third quarter maybe all year, and we challenged them at halftime — it was a four-point game — to win the third quarter," Pittman told SEC Network. "I think we...basically put the game away.
"I was really pleased with how they came out in second half."
Auburn’s Camden Brown had a 9-yard touchdown catch from Robby Ashford with 5:28 remaining. Brown set up another score with a 49-yard reception in the final minute. Jarquez Hunter ran for a 1-yard touchdown with four seconds remaining.
"When we had our ones in, we played pretty good in the second half," Pittman told SEC Network, "and obviously we needed to get some of our kids playing time on offense and defense, and we gave up a score, but that's irrelevant. The time the kids got a chance to play is more important."
Landon Jackson blocked a 52-yard field goal attempt by Carlson early in the third quarter to set up a drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Jadon Haselwood. It was the Razorbacks’ first blocked field goal since the 2018 season opener against Eastern Illinois.
Jefferson accounted for three touchdowns. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 234 yards, and rushed for 45 yards on 10 attempts, including sacks.
"We were able to establish the run game, and then just trusting my teammates up front to know they were going to be in the right decision, make the right block," Jefferson told SEC Network. "I just trusted my instincts to just go play ball."
Matt Landers caught four passes for a season-high 115 yards to lead the Razorbacks. Landers’ 56-yard catch in the second quarter set up a 27-yard field goal by Cam Little that put Arkansas ahead 17-10.
Little added a 37-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Razorbacks had 520 yards of total offense — their most in an SEC game this season. The Tigers had 468 yards of offense, 149 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Arkansas has won two consecutive games, both on the road. Auburn lost its fourth consecutive game.
“I would hope no one’s happy about losing a game, simple as that,” embattled Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “You put a lot of time and effort into preparing yourself. If it’s not painful when you lose, then you’ve got the wrong people.”
CORRECTION: Isaiah Nichols was initially credited with the blocked field goal for Arkansas, but the official scorer latest credited the block to Landon Jackson.